House Churches Research Articles

Chinese Christianity: An Interplay between Global and Local Perspectives by Peter Tze Ming Ng

Reviewed by: Chinese Christianity: An Interplay between Global and Local Perspectives by Peter Tze Ming Ng D. E. Mungello (bio) Peter Tze Ming Ng. Chinese Christianity: An Interplay between Global and Local Perspectives. Leiden: Brill, 2012. xiii, 258 pp. Hardcover €108.00 ($144.00). isbn 978-90-04-22574-9. The history of Christianity in China since 1949 has been marked by deep divisions in both the Protestant and Catholic churches over the question of state control. This governmental control was initially part of a campaign to eradicate Western imperialism, but it has evolved in more recent times into a reassertion of a Chinese tradition of highly centralized political control over religious expression. China is a large country with many divergent segments and a fear of national disintegration (most recently experienced in the years 1912–1949) drives this control. This struggle for political control has manifested itself in the government-initiated Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) to control Protestant churches and the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA) to control Catholic churches. However, because of resistance to the state control of the TSPM, [End Page 349] many Protestant groups have refused to register with the government and have continued to meet as unregistered “house churches” (jiating jiaohui 家庭教會). Likewise, Catholics who have maintained an ultimate loyalty to Rome rather than Beijing in spiritual matters have formed an underground church. Writings on the subject of Christianity in China since 1949 tend to express a sympathy for one or the other of these divisions, although few authors are explicit about their sympathy. The subject of this book by Peter Tze Ming Ng 吳梓明 is the historical evolution of Protestant Christianity in China from a missionary-imposed Western Christianity, which was resisted by Chinese as alien and foreign, to the development of genuine regional/local forms of Chinese Christianity which have thrived as a more authentically Chinese experience. Ng uses the neologism “glocalization” to describe this blending of global and local forces. The term was promoted at a conference “Glocalization and Christianity” sponsored by the government think-tank the Centre for the Study of Christianity in the Research Institute of World Religions, Chinese Academy of Social Studies (CASS), Beijing, in December 2003 (p. 31-32). Although the term “glocalization” is new, the thesis is not, and it is well presented by Ng’s focus on several important figures in the idea’s evolution. The first was the evangelist Cheng Jingyi 誠靜怡 (C. Y. Cheng, 1881-1939). Ng presents Cheng as a pivotal figure in the development of an indigenous Protestant church. He was one of only three Chinese delegates to attend the 1910 Edinburgh Conference where at the youthful age of twenty-eight he gave two presentations in which he appealed for the development of indigenous Chinese churches (p. 79-80). Cheng helped to enunciate the idea that European Christianity, American Christianity and Chinese Christianity were all localized and indigenized parts of World Christianity. In 1922 the theologian Zhao Zichen 趙紫宸 (C. T. Chao, 1888-1979) echoed Cheng in calling for the removal of foreign, Western denominational divisions to create an indigenous Chinese Christianity (p. 87). Ng cites three “prophetic voices” (p. 111) to illustrate the relationship between global and local perspectives in the development of indigenous Christianity in China: Timothy Richard, David Paton, and K. H. Ting. Richard was a Baptist missionary who arrived in China in 1870 and would spend forty-five years there before retiring in 1914 (p. 114-116). He began by using the evangelistic methods of daily preaching and distribution of Bibles favored by the China Inland Mission, but over time modified these methods to a more accommodating approach. During the first decade of the twentieth century, Chinese officials charged Richard with the task of using Boxer indemnity funds returned by the United States government and several Protestant missionary boards to establish Shanxi University (p. 50-55). When he refused to use the university as a tool for evangelization, some missionaries complained. On the other hand, in the face of anti-Christian opposition from some Chinese officials and gentry, Richard insisted that teachers would [End Page 350] be free to offer Christian theology classes to students as elective rather than required courses. David...

The Liturgical Environment: What the Documents Say 3rd Edition by Mark G. Boyer

Reviewed by: The Liturgical Environment: What the Documents Say 3rd Edition by Mark G. Boyer Duncan G. Stroik Mark G. Boyer The Liturgical Environment: What the Documents Say, 3rd Edition Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2015 276 pages. Paperback. $29.95. When did people start thinking that liturgical law was architectural law? In the past fifty years, this genre of book has been quite popular, assisting one to navigate the manifold documents of Vatican II in order to re-imagine churches in keeping with the spirit of the Council. On the one hand, Boyer tries to be thorough by combing liturgical documents for anything that might have relevance to the design of the ambry or the location of the tabernacle. On the other hand, the book suffers from the liturgical functional views of the famous little pamphlet Environment and Art in Catholic Worship (U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Liturgy, 1976), from which it quotes. Thus, rather than beginning with the representation of Christ’s one immemorial sacrifice, or the feeding on the Word of God and the Bread of Life, every chapter commences with the “the norm of active participation of the assembly in liturgical celebration.” In his introduction the author notes that Redemptionis Sacramentum “attempts to get at an interiority or spirituality that is an important part of active participation, insisting that not everyone must have something concrete to do beyond the usual actions and gestures of the assembly” (xii–xiii). Unfortunately, the rest of the book interprets “full and active participation” as everyone actively doing something, and architectural success is [End Page 352] judged by how much the liturgical elements foster activity. In Boyer’s treatment of the building shape he sees the basilica as historically enabling participation because there was no seating and “people could see and hear each other” (8). In the cruciform shape, participation was at a minimum due to the fact that people sat in pews and “saw only the backs of the heads of people” (8). Not only are these false conclusions, but the author shows his limited knowledge of Church history. It was in the Middle Ages that the cruciform plan developed, while pews did not come into popular use until the Reformation. Boyer sees the post-Vatican II “theater church” as a great improvement over the cruciform since worshippers can see each other and are closer to the action. Recognizing the problem of adapting an entertainment model for a church with active participation, Boyer criticizes the stage as encouraging passive watching. Even better and more participatory in his view is the elliptical sports stadium where “all are in full view of each other and interact with each other” (9). This leads us back to the so-called original environment, the house church or living room, beloved by liturgical design consultants, where furniture is arranged in a circle similar to a stadium. The modernist liturgical design consultant either likes, or has been trained to prefer, a minimalist northern European space and works at finding theological reasons why these preferences should be universal. To support this agenda Boyer offers five principles: suitability, simplicity, genuineness, audibility & visibility, and dignity. Simplicity means a clutter-free church, no distracting flowers on old high altars, and “a sufficient distance should separate the tabernacle and altar” (19–20). Even better is to employ lighting or some other device to separate the tabernacle during Mass so that one is not distracted by it. His minimalist interpretation of Church documents leads him to say in regard to genuineness that “wood should look like wood…stone should look like stone” (21) and that fake appointments (tube candles, silk flowers, faux marble) imply that the liturgy is fake. These false syllogisms and others run through the book. Visibility implies that the assembly can see the ministers at the altar, the ambo, and the chair, while ministers can see members of the assembly and make eye contact with them. The principle of visibility, one of the most insidious ideas in church architecture, [End Page 353] has led to the destruction of many historic churches and has led to a pseudo sacrament of proximity. One of the ways that modern church architecture has fostered...

Jesus Did Not Start Religious Life; Why Did It Appear in the Church? Biblical Foundation of Consecrated Life

This paper examines the biblical foundation of religious life in the context of the history of salvation. It briefly presents the God’s plan of salvation. As historical Israel failed their mission exile was the consequence of this failure. A consequence of the restoration of Israel will be the pilgrimage of the nations to Jerusalem. Jesus’ healing miracles point out that God is restoring his people and that is why he takes away all kind of sickness. The ancient Church knew that it had to be a sign of the truth of the Gospel in its entire existence however, when, after the “Milan edict” of Constantine (312/313 AD), the masses enter the Church, its early structure of “house Churches” was broken. Soon after the monastic movement began. With the monastic communities coming to existence, there was a chance that at least these religious house churches would preserve the community dimension of the Church and that they would continue to be a sign for the pagan society of how God wants his people to live.

In Vino Veritas and Its Possible Application to 1 Corinthians 11:21: The Revelatory Role of Wine in a House Church Setting in Light of Graeco-Roman Culture

This article investigates the role of wine in the specific context of the shared meal practice in the early Christian community of Roman Corinth. Most discussions of 1 Corinthians 11:17–34 focus upon the poor being neglected in the distribution of food when the church assembles together. This investigation considers a secondary issue in the text: an alternate way of understanding how the drinking of wine may have played a role in one brother judging another under the conditions likely to occur in a house church setting.

The Chinese House Church Movement in South Africa

Die Chinese huiskerkbeweging in Suid-Afrika Die doel van hierdie navorsing is om die Chinese huiskerkbeweging in Suid-Afrika by wyse van akademiese ondersoek aan die orde te stel en ‘n inleidende bespreking te bied van hierdie belangrike gebeurtenis in sendingwetenskap . Hierdie navorsing behels van die heel eerste beskrywings en navorsing oor hierdie haas onbekende verskynsel . Die bespreking geskied aan die hand van Alan Hirsch se konsep van apostoliese impak e n die sogenaamde ‘Jesus People’- beweging , toegepas op Chinese huiskerke in China en Suid-Afrika . Die navorsing skets ‘n kort oorsig oor die kerk in China om sodoende konteks te skep vir die gebeure in Suid-Afrika . Die inleidende bespreking van die Chinese huiskerke geskied aan die hand van ‘ deelnemende waarneming .’ Die navorsing vervolg met voorstelle vir die verdere ontwikkeling van die huiskerke in Suid-Afrika . The Chinese House Church Movement in South Africa The purpose of the research is to provide an academic introduction to the Chinese House Church Movement in South Africa, and to give a brief description of the importance of this new missiological event – for, even though the presence of these churches is well known, little is known about the churches themselves. This research represents some of the very first explorations and missiological reflections on this phenomenon in South Africa. Therefore, i n this article Alan Hirsch’s idea of ‘apostolic genius’ and its connection to ‘Jesus People’ Movements and their impact is explored within the context of the Chinese church, both in mainland China and in South Africa. A brief history of the church in China is provided as background and context for an exploration of the Chinese House Church Movement in South Africa – through ‘participant observation’. Consequently, suggestions are made as to ways in which one can more effectively assist already existing Chinese house churches, as well as with the establishment of more Chinese house churches. As this is a previously mostly ‘unknown’ and/or closed-off community, the research undertaken in this article is of great importance as an initial exploration and missiological reflection on this phenomenon. https://doi.org/10.19108/KOERS.80.2.2225

Impediments to Practice in Contemporary Paganism

This quantitative study is based on data from a large-scale national survey of Pagans, Witches, and Heathens in the United States (N=3,318) that was conducted by the author and examines the prevalence and severity of impediments to practice encountered by American Pagans. Obstacles can be organized into the following categories: (1) those rooted in interactions with the dominant culture in which Pagans live; (2) challenges arising from the non-institutional nature of Paganism; (3) requirements related to the practice of magick; (4) demands stemming from educational/developmental trajectories; and (5) pragmatic challenges encountered when trying to live according to one’s values. Contemporary Paganism is in the early stages of routinization. The analysis reveals that the “house church,” volunteer clergy model poses real, pervasive challenges not only for Paganism in general, but for the leaders and clergy in particular. The importance of nature is a notable feature of Paganism and the most common obstacle to religious practice discovered is the expense of living a Green lifestyle. Fear of prejudice and conflicts with the values embedded within the dominant culture’s educational system are also prevalent barriers that affect practice.

The power of children: the construction of Christian families in the Greco-Roman world

1. Introduction: Codes and Children 2. Small, Silent, but Ever Present: Slave Children in Colossians 3:18-4:1 3. Socialization and Education: The Nurture, Teaching, and Discipline of Children in Ephesians 5:21-6:4 4. The House Church as Home School: The Christian Assembly and Family in Pastorals 5. Conclusion: How Remembering the Little Ones Changes Things

The Situation in 2 John: A Worried Presbyter

ABSTRACTthe identity of the recipients of 2 John is much debated. Certain key issues complicate the debate, for instance, why does the presbyter mention ‘some’ of the lady's children who live in truth and not all? Who are the false teachers who claimed hospitality or at least access to the house (church)? Why are these opponents not shown the basic courtesy of inviting them into the house (church) or of even greeting them? These questions and other key issues are addressed and interrelated in order to suggest a possible scenario for the origin of the letter.

Lessons from the Early House Church for Today's Cell Groups

As the apostles proceeded to carry out the Great Commission (Matt 28:18–20), they utilized a two-fold approach of meeting in the temple courts for large-group meetings and in the homes for more intimate small-group encounters. Very quickly, the house church became the definitive expression of church in the early Christian movement. In the wake of the Apostle Paul's missionary journeys, numerous churches sprang up and virtually all of the New Testament churches mentioned in the letters of Paul were in private homes. The house church remained the most significant context for early church worship, fellowship, and Christian education up to the early part of the fourth century, when Constantine legitimized Christianity. At that point in history, basilicas replaced the house church along with the small-group style of worship, ministry, and teaching. This article will explore the early house church as a model of small-group meetings and how these gatherings served as the context for the ongoing life of the early church.

The Divine and Mystical Realm

Indigenous Chinese preacher Watchman Nee is considered to have had the greatest theological influence on China’s vibrant house church movement, yet there are few studies detailing his influence on church practices. This paper analyzes the writings of Watchman Nee and other Local Church members to show how Nee contextualized the message of Western missionaries to China, using subaltern strategies of returning to scriptural fundamentals and reducing the scale of organization and worship. He divested mission Christianity of its hegemonic trappings and created flexible Christian practices, which take place in the ‘divine and mystical realm,’ out of reach from ‘worldly’ power structures.

New Netherland and the Dutch Origins of American Religious Liberty

New Netherland and the Dutch Origins of American Religious Liberty

Protestant ecumenism and theology in China since Edinburgh 1910

Ecumenical theology traditionally focuses on clarifying diverse opinions on core matters of the faith. But from its inception in China, ecumenism has been heavily influenced by its sociopolitical concerns. This article explores ecumenism’s goal of church unity in Chinese Protestantism since Edinburgh 1910. Two early attempts sought to speak to the concerns of foreign denominationalism and imperialism. In the 1980s, a third attempt occurred within the government-sanctioned church. This would be complicated by the prevalence of house churches and theological studies among secular academics. How does this trifurcation of Christian activity affect the goals of Chinese Protestant ecumenism?

PENTECOSTAL CHRISTIANITY AND CHURCH-STATE RELATIONS IN CHINA: THE CASE OF THE TRUE JESUS CHURCH MOVEMENT

In-depth study of the True Jesus Church, a completely indigenous Pentecostal Chinese religious group that has experienced dramatic growth in recent years, reveals the complex and diverse reality of variation in church-state relationships in China. The True Jesus Church is distinct in that, in many regions, it is not a part of the overall “Three-Self Patriotic Movement” structure, nor does it belong to the “house church” movement. In China today, a society where an overarching rule-of-law system is missing, fates of religious congregations often lie in the hands of local bureaucrats. The quality of relationships—the “Guanxi”— with the local government often determines the degree of freedom for religious practices.

The Rise of a Chinese House Church: The Organizational Weapon

AbstractThis article investigates the similarities between the organizational innovation of one underground Protestant house church in China and the rise of early communist parties. Much like the spread of communism, the organizational tactics of the church are designed to protect it in a hostile political environment. The different levels are insulated from each other, with limited knowledge of the members above and below. In this way, if anyone is raided by the authorities, the others can continue to function with little interruption. Thus, the highly touted “organizational weapon” developed by the Bolsheviks and recycled, for example, by the Chinese Communist Party in their struggle for power, has resurfaced many years later. However, this time it has been adopted by a religious “vanguard.”

The Bible on Steroids The Effect of Androcentrism on the Lectionary

For many Catholics the most common encounter with the biblical witness is through the Lectionary. Questions arise about the method by which biblical passages are selected, the message conveyed by the content of the Lectionary readings, and the impact of the Lectionary on our appreciation of the role of women in salvation history. W hen I began to study the Bible as an undergraduate theology student, I was surprised to discover women in the Pauline texts who were leaders of house churches, missionaries, prophets, catechists, and deacons; women who were Paul’s coworkers, not his subordinates. However, my genuine delight at this discovery was eclipsed by a deeper question: why had I not heard of these women before? After some reflection, I came to the realization that I had spent too much time with my missalette and not enough time with my Bible. What I had experienced, and what all Catholics experience if they do not have significant extra-liturgical biblical encounters, was a scripturally mediated indoctrination into the Church’s anthropology of women. This anthropology says that women were created to be the helpers of men, especially in procreation, and that they are characterized by certain qualities that pertain to this role, such as passivity, receptivity, selflessness, and sensitivity to the needs of people (John Paul II, n. 18). Every woman, regardless of her actual life situation, is defined by the “two particular dimensions of the fulfillment of the female personality,” (John Paul II, n. 17), virginity and motherhood. While the Lectionary’s delivery of

Converting Houses into Churches: The Mobility, Fission, and Sacred Networks of Evangelical House Churches in Sri Lanka

In this paper I examine the processes and politics associated with the formation of evangelical house churches in Sri Lanka. In doing so, I show how the sacred space of the house church is constructed through the development of sacred networks, which emerge when a group of Christians assemble for prayer and worship. Sacred networks grant the house church an important degree of mobility, but they also encourage church fission. Whilst the house church enables evangelical groups to grow in hostile environments like that of Sri Lanka, it is often a superficial form of growth that is unsustainable in the long term. To conclude, I suggest that an understanding of sacred networks can help inject a sense of scalar dynamism into the study of contemporary religious movements.

Luke’s Understanding of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit: A Pentecostal Perspective

Not long ago a Chinese house church leader commented, “When Chinese believers read the book of Acts, we see in it our own experience; when foreign Christians read the book of Acts, they see in it inspiring stories.” My Chinese friend’s point was clear: their experience of opposition and persecution impacts how they read Luke’s narrative. Chinese believers tend to read Luke-Acts with a sense of urgency and desperation, a sense of hunger generated by their need. So, they easily identify with the struggles of Peter and John, of Stephen and Paul. And so also they readily accept the promise of the Spirit’s enabling to persevere and bear bold witness to Jesus in the face of opposition. Implicit in my friend’s comment was also the belief that Christians who live in stable and affluent countries, Christians who live in contexts where the Church has a long and storied history, may have a difficult time reading the book of Acts in this way. He was suggesting that many of these Christians may find it hard to identify with the struggles and needs of the early disciples, and thus they do not read with the same sense of solidarity or with the same sense of urgency. I believe that this conversation touches on perhaps the greatest Luke’s Understanding of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit: A Pentecostal Perspective

The psychological-type profile of lay church leaders in Australia

A sample of 845 lay church leaders (444 women and 401 men) from a range of 24 different denominations and movements (including house churches and independent churches) completed the Francis Psychological-Type Scales within the context of the 2006 Australian National Church Life Survey. The psychological-type profiles of these lay church leaders were almost identical to the type profiles of 1527 Australian churchgoers (936 women and 591 men) published in an earlier study by Robbins and Francis. The predominant types among female lay church leaders were ISFJ (21%), ESFJ (21%), and ISTJ (18%). The predominant types among male lay church leaders were ISTJ (28%), ISFJ (17%), ESTJ (13%), and ESFJ (12%). The SJ temperament accounted for 67% of the female lay church leaders and for 70% of the male lay church leaders. The strengths and weaknesses of the SJ leadership style are discussed.

Reading the New Testament Household Codes in Light of New Research on Children and Childhood in the Roman World

The references to children and the child–parent relationship in the New Testament household codes (Col 3:20–21; Eph 6:1–4) have received little attention from scholars. Yet recent, cross-disciplinary interest in the study of children and childhood invites us to consider these exhortations afresh. In particular, current research in Roman Family Studies has led to greater appreciation of the multifaceted circumstances of children, raising new questions about the children who were addressed directly in the household codes of Colossians and Ephesians. Two themes are especially important to consider: (1) overlapping categories of identity tied especially to the complex structures of a slave-holding society; and (2) the household as a locus for education throughout the life course. Informed by current research on children and childhood, the household codes appear to be even more significant than was previously thought for understanding the place of house churches in the Roman imperial world.Les références aux enfants et la relation parent-enfant dans les codes domestiques du Nouveau Testament (Col 3.20–21; Ép 6.1–4) ont reçu peu d’attention des chercheurs. Pourtant, récemment, l’intérêt interdisciplinaire dans l’étude des enfants et de l’enfance nous invite à reconsidérer ces exhortations. En particulier, la recherche actuelle en études familiales romaines a conduit à une plus grande appréciation de la situation des enfants à multiples facettes, ce qui soulève de nouvelles questions sur les enfants qui ont été adressées directement dans les codes domestiques de Colossiens et Ephésiens. Deux thèmes sont particulièrement importants à considérer: (1) catégories qui se recoupent d’identité liée en particulier aux structures complexes d’une société esclavagiste, et (2) la maison comme un lieu d’éducation tout au long du cycle de la vie. Informé par la recherche actuelle sur les enfants et l’enfance, les codes domestiques semblent être encore plus importants qu’on ne le pensait pour comprendre la place des églises de maison dans le monde romain impérial.

Emerging evangelicals: faith, modernity, and the desire for authenticity

The Emerging Church movement developed in the mid-1990s among primarily white, urban, middle-class pastors and laity who were disenchanted with America's conservative sub-culture. It is a response to the increasing divide between conservative Evangelicals and concerned critics who strongly oppose what they consider overly slick, corporate, and consumerist versions of faith. A core feature of their response is a challenge to traditional congregational models, often focusing on new church plants and creating networks of related house churches. Drawing on three years of ethnographic fieldwork, James S. Bielo explores the impact of the Emerging Church movement on American Evangelicals. He combines ethnographic analysis with discussions of the movement's history, discursive contours, defining practices, cultural logics, and contentious interactions with conservative critics to rethink the boundaries of Evangelical as a category. Ultimately, Bielo makes a novel contribution to our understanding of the important changes at work among American Protestants, and illuminates how Emerging Evangelicals interact with the cultural conditions of modernity, late modernity, and visions of postmodern Christianity. James S. Bielo is Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Miami University in Oxford, OH. He is the author of Words Upon the Word: An Ethnography of Group Bible Study (NYU Press) and editor of The Social Life of Scriptures: Cross-cultural Perspectives on Biblicism.